Cee’s Flower of the Day: Sunflower

October 5, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Cee has invited me to join in even though I don’t know the name of many flowers. I do love to photograph them though, and this sunflower really spoke to me on my walk a couple of days ago. Sadly, as I passed it by this evening, the petals are all gone and the stalk […]

“Apprenticed to Venus”: a Review

October 4, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Subtitled My Secret Life with Anaïs Nin, Apprenticed to Venus is the part memoir, part novel of Tristine Rainier, who mentored under the famous diarist. Although I have been inspired by Nin’s words, I have known very little about her, so I was eager to read this book. Rainier, on an errand from her artist aunt, encounters […]

Exploring Stonetown

October 3, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

Sunday, being the last day of September, spurred my longing to get outside. The clouds hung low, threatening to drop their contents at any moment, but I didn’t care. We’ve been in our new town for two months now, and have had little time for exploring. A river flows through the village, and there are […]

Lens-Artists: Look Up

October 2, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

I am currently obsessed with the ever-changing landscape that is the sky. Looking up has become a habit. The featured image was taken from the car while traveling – so not the best, but still the cloud images look alive. Taken from the front porch, this late afternoon, September sky is perfection: During a recent […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #17: Attention

October 1, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

The quality of our lives is determined by the focus of our attention. – Cheri Huber As a child, I had a recurring dream: I’m crouched under a large, wooden chair, and Mickey Mouse is headed my way with a kettle of boiling water, intending to scald me, and no matter how much I scream, […]

Photo a Week: From the Back

September 30, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

As the weather turns here, and our aging bodies start to complain, we find ourselves dreaming of warmer climates. Arizona is the state that calls to me. I decided to revisit my pictures from last year for this challenge. Horseback riders follow the river’s edge in search of the wild horses. Coon’s Bluff, where these […]

Exit Strategy

September 28, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

One more train. Then she’d be away. Far enough to lose all communication. Far enough that he could not find her. “Can I help you Ma’am?” a porter reached for her luggage. Passengers crowded in behind. “Just a moment, thanks.” Pulling her suitcase aside, she fidgeted with her purse, pretending to be searching for a […]

Creativity- Releasing Perfectionism

September 27, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Having given myself permission to paint with bolder colours and abandon the expectation of replicating the perfection of photographs, I am venturing into more ambitious projects. Mistakes, I am learning, can be tossed or mended. The featured image was meant to be a sunset over water, but my mother called just as I was putting […]

Baseline

September 26, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Baseline is the name of the road on which my final high school stands. My ‘last chance’ authorities called it, as I’d been ‘asked to leave’ the previous one. Turned out the attendance officer was a parent of a former classmate and recognized me. I felt trapped. Skipping school was how I coped in those […]

CFFC: Pastels

September 25, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Softness of coral, paired with misty green creates tranquility, pleasing garden scene. A sleeping dove captured by surprise, reveals tender blue lidding the eyes. The sweetest of pastels, pink light at day’s end – water and sky, pre-slumber, gracefully blend. (Photos from private collection, submitted here for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: pastel colours.)